Postal Service unveils new Muhammad Ali stamp in champ’s hometown

LOUISVILLE, Ky. (AP) — Postal officials have unveiled a commemorative stamp of boxing legend Muhammad Ali in Louisville, Kentucky. The stamp features a 1974 Associated Press photograph of Ali in his prime as a fighter. The Postal Service has printed 22 million of these stamps, which went on sale Thursday. Bob Costas hosted the unveiling event, honoring Ali in his hometown. His widow, Lonnie Ali, spoke about the stamp’s significance. Ali, known for his brash poetry and philanthropy, died in 2016. The stamp sheet also features a photo of Ali in a pinstripe suit, recognizing his work as an activist and humanitarian.

Lawmakers propose $2.5B agency to boost production of rare earths

WASHINGTON (AP) — A bipartisan group of lawmakers has proposed creating a new agency with $2.5 billion to boost production of rare earths and the other critical minerals. This comes as the Trump administration takes aggressive steps to reduce reliance on China, which dominates the market for these materials. The Pentagon has spent nearly $5 billion over the past year to secure supply chains. The bill introduced Thursday by Senators Jeanne Shaheen and Todd Young aims to stabilize prices and encourage domestic and allied production. The U.S. is under pressure to cut its dependence on China, after a trade truce last year.

Minifridge recall expands to 964,000 Frigidaires after fire reports

NEW YORK (AP) — An appliance distributor is expanding a minifridge recall that now covers roughly 964,000 Frigidaire-branded products sold in the U.S., after multiple fire reports. Following a recall of about 634,000 minifridges last year, Canada-based Curtis International recalled an additional 330,000 of another model on Thursday. According to a notice published U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission, the recalled fridges have electrical components that can short circuit and ignite the plastic used to make the product — risking fires and potential burns for users. The 330,000 Frigidaire minifridges now under recall carry the model number EFMIS121 and were sold exclusively at Target. Per the Commission, six reports of fires resulting in property damage have been linked to these products to date.

Senate passes more spending bills, but Homeland Security dispute looms

WASHINGTON (AP) — Congress is halfway home in approving government funding for the current budget year that began Oct. 1 after the Senate overwhelmingly passed a three-bill package on Thursday. Now comes the hard part. Lawmakers still must negotiate a spending bill for the Department of Homeland Security amid soaring tensions on Capitol Hill after the shooting of a Minnesota woman by an Immigration and Customs Enforcement agent. Democrats are seeking what Rep. Rosa DeLauro called “guardrails” that would come with funding for ICE. But Republicans say any changes to the Homeland Security funding bill would need sign-on from the White House.